Technology Lab-on-a-chip transports liquids without pipes or valves IMAGINE trying to suck molasses through a straw, and you get some idea of the big problem facing microchip-sized "labs" designed to perform experiments on tiny quantities of fluids or biomolecules. Liquids all too easily get stuck in their diminutive pipework and gum up their valves and pumps. Now a team has developed a lab-on-a-chip … News
Life Biologists risk becoming accidental terrorists FOR anyone who doubts that well-intentioned research can sometimes have potentially deadly consequences, Ron Jackson has a cautionary tale. Working for the wildlife division of Australia's national research agency, he set out to make a contraceptive vaccine to control plagues of mice. What he ended up with was a deadly mousepox virus that resists vaccination … Opinion
Earth Raiders of the lost storms "OH MY God, this is terrifying...I've got windows out...windows broken, trees down...the garage door is gone, the fence is down... I was in LA in an earthquake, this is worse..." It was 6 am on 20 March and Gillian, a resident of Innisfail on the Queensland coast of Australia, was describing to ABC Radio the … Features
Life The Word: Neophiliac ARE you tempted to trade in your mobile phone every time a new model comes out, upgrade your laptop every year or part-exchange your car as soon as the shine wears off? If so, you could be suffering from neophilia: literally, the love of the new. "Suffering" is a bit of a stretch, since most … Regulars
Feedback Five-dimensional sounds VIBRATIONAL energies are, we suggested back on 17 December 2005, sure-fire indicators that texts mentioning them are fruit-loopery deluxe. We now add to our trigger list all combinations of "subtle", "energy", "quantum" and "physics". Especially "German subtle energy quantum physics research", as featured in the embarrassment of loopy riches at www.byregion.net/profiles/oxybliss.html to which … Regulars